AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Dave Cowens is an assistant coach for the Pistons, and it’s been 28 years since he wore a Celtics [team stats] uniform. But - bless him - he’s still Dave Cowens

So he was able to quickly shed his disappointment after Detroit fell to the Celts in the Eastern Conference finals last year. The seven-time All-Star and former MVP was firmly on the side of his old club during The Finals.

“Oh, sure,” Cowens said. “Especially when they’re playing the Fakers.”

The big man also very much appreciated the way the Celtics played - and still play.

“I thought they deserved it from start to finish,” Cowens said before the Celts proved his point with an 88-76 win last night. “They were the ones who set the pace for the whole league. And pretty much they’ve come out of the blocks trying to play the same way.

“They bully people, they play really physical . . . and I like it. I think that’s the way you should do it.”

That is, of course, the way Cowens did do it. And he was impressed, in particular, by the C’s defense.

“I watched a lot of tape on them all year long,” he said, “and I just thought defensively we were good but they were just a little more consistent in terms of executing defensively what they wanted.”

So he was able to quickly shed his disappointment after Detroit fell to the Celts in the Eastern Conference finals last year. The seven-time All-Star and former MVP was firmly on the side of his old club during The Finals.

“Oh, sure,” Cowens said. “Especially when they’re playing the Fakers.”

"You have to understand, I love L.A., I love being our ambassador, I love bringing people together," he said. "It's funny, but I guess it still feels like I'm playing point guard, but in a different way, doing stuff more meaningful than winning."

Yep. We've definitely got a chip on our shoulder after the last time we met. Cowens is just bitter because he's gotta deal with Kwame. lol.

"You have to understand, I love L.A., I love being our ambassador, I love bringing people together," he said. "It's funny, but I guess it still feels like I'm playing point guard, but in a different way, doing stuff more meaningful than winning."